1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for visually shielding a corpse from view at a scene of police action.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When there is a fatality during the course of commission of a crime standard police operating procedure requires the police officers who arrive early on the scene to secure the crime scene without disturbing any evidence. This normally involves establishing a perimeter at least thirty feet from the site of possible evidence. This perimeter is normally established by laterally extending yellow tape about upright supports in the vicinity to provide a clear demarcation of the secured area. The first police officers on the scene are also charged with the responsibility for preventing unauthorized personnel from entering the restricted area once that area has been established. The only personnel authorized to enter this area will normally be crime investigating officers and personnel from the county coroner's office.
When a fatality has occurred during the course of a suspected crime, very frequently important evidence relative to the crime may be obtained through a competent examination of the body of the deceased person or persons. However, any disturbance of the body or the area immediately surrounding the body is very likely to destroy or contaminate important evidence. Therefore, after having initially determined that the deceased person is, in fact, dead and that there is no hope of resuscitation, proper police practice requires the police officers on the scene to ensure that the body of the deceased remains undisturbed in the position in which it is found. The body is only removed following an investigation of the crime scene by personnel from the coroner's office.
Due to the distance from a crime scene, increased work load necessitated by budget constraints, and traffic conditions in urban areas, six, eight, or even more hours often elapse from the time a body is discovered at a crime scene until the arrival of personnel from the coroner's office. During this time the body of the deceased should remain in the position and condition in which it was found, undisturbed, so as to preserve evidence that may be discovered by an examination of the body and its immediate surroundings. As a result, the body of a deceased person at a crime scene is often left to lie in full view from beyond the secured perimeter of the crime scene for many hours.
Since police action at the scene of a suspected crime is usually highly visible and often involves a considerable commotion, very frequently a crowd of spectators will gather about the perimeter of the secured area and attempt to ascertain the cause of the excitement. Quite often the mood of many of the spectators is highly emotional, particularly among those spectators who may have witnessed events relating to the suspected crime or who are familiar with the individuals that were involved in the events leading to the fatality. Indeed, some of the spectators may have known the deceased individual or individuals personally. Furthermore, family members of the deceased individuals are often present or are called to the scene of the suspected crime.
The appearance of the corpse of a family member or friend lying dead in full view for a lengthy period of time is frequently very emotionally disturbing to many of the spectators. Moreover, the high emotional intensity that may be present among the spectators often makes it difficult for the police officers on the scene to maintain the crime scene in a secured condition. Indeed, the high emotional level of those in the vicinity of the secured crime scene may put others in the immediate area into jeopardy, including those police personnel present at the crime scene.
The emotional distress and anguish of friends or relatives of a deceased person may be substantially heightened where visible indications of pain or suffering of the decedent prior to expiration are evident. Such visible indications include visible mortal wounds, heavy blood loss, or an unnatural condition of the body, such as partial or complete disrobement. Furthermore, such conditions also tend to attract a large number of curiosity seekers, thus amplifying the problems of maintaining security about the crime scene.
In the past it has not been unusual for police officers on the scene of a suspected crime to attempt to reduce the level of spectator anxiety, emotion, and attention by covering the body of the decedent so as to shield it from public view. For example, blankets, sheets, and plastic tarpaulins have often been spread over the body while awaiting the arrival of coroner personnel. While such a manner of concealment does serve to alleviate emotions among spectators and reduce the problems of maintaining security at the crime scene to police officers on the site, such a conventional practice of concealment has decided disadvantages. Specifically, if a body of a deceased person at a crime scene is covered, for example, with a blanket, the fibers from the blanket may be transferred to the body of the deceased. Also, when a covering that has been placed directly on top of the body of a deceased person is removed, it may carry away with it important evidence, such as particles of dust, hair, and other tiny but important evidentiary material.
A further problem involved in the conventional techniques of covering a body at the scene of a crime is that a covering placed atop the body tends to alter the temperature of the corpse. The imposition of such a covering disrupts and distorts the temperature of the corpse, thus making the time of death more difficult to establish and also often hastening the decomposition process. This likewise can lead to important tainting, degradation, or complete loss of evidence.